Karlstadt am Main - a lovely, medieval town on the river Main
Created | Updated Mar 3, 2006
Karlstadt am Main is a small town of about 8000 inhabitants in Germany. It is a 20 minute drive away from the city of Würzburg (sometimes spelt Wuerzburg), which is a university town (but also famous for its "Residenz" with its architecture strongly ressembling the castle of Versailles and its beautiful Tiepollo ceiling paintings).
Karlstadt itself is more then 800 years old, in 2000 the town celebrated its 800-years-anniversary. The town, which is also the administrative "capital" of the region Main-Spessart, can basicly be divided into two parts: there is the medieval part,which is close to the river Main and the newer part, which starts behind the train station of Karlstadt and which goes up until the hill of the "Saupurzel". The medieval, historical part of the town has kept its charm with many beautifully restaured "Fachwerkhäusern". This type of houses were built with a very traditional style and a lot of wood is used (but not at all like houses in the Alps for example).Many streets of the historic town centre are part of a pedestrian precinct, which makes it nice to stroll through town in general (or, particularly, with children) or to cycle. In the "Hauptstrasse", which is like the main street in the town centre, a lot of restaurants, bars,pubs and shops can be found. From chinese, to Turkish, to Italian,Greek and of course regional cuisine: everything can be found! It is particularly nice to visit those places in summer, as there are quite a few fountains along the streets and the restaurants and bars put up their chairs and tables in front of their houses.
Karlstadt has, because of its age, quite a few historic sites and if you visit the tourist information in the Hohen Kemenate (located in the Hauptstrasse in the local library (the German word for this is "Stadtbücherei"), you can even book a tour or just get some brochures to discover the town yourself. Karlstadt has a beautiful medieval church, which is in the middle of the town. It might not look that beautiful from the outside, but as the church has been restored in 2000, the interior is really beautiful. Even if you are not religious, do not miss out that opportunity! And those who are interested in the work of the medieval artist Tilman Riemenschneider, three of his wooden sculptures can be seen in there as well.
Some parts of the town, particularly those ones located next to the water/river are still surrounded by an old town wall and the town also still has a few towers. Another site of the town is the former "Rathaus", or town hall, which is located in the centre of the town on the market place. If you have a closer look towards the roof, you might discover a small niche in which a man stands. This man, which is of course only a figure, plays his trumpet several times a day, for example at 8 o'clock in the morning and at six o'clock in the evening. Like this, the inhabitantst know what time it is, but it also reminds the people of the town of Karlstadt's history. As Karlstadt was occupied during the 30-years war by the Swedes, the legend says that a Swedish soldier was forgotten in Karlstadt...
Those who are interested in traditions and customs of the region (or Franconia) might like to visit the museum in the Hauptstrasse. It offers interesting looks into the past, e.g. by displaying traditional costumes or even whole rooms of that time.
Another popular tourist attraction besides many is the ruin of the Karlsburg. The Karlsburg was a castle in the dark ages, but was partly destroyed during the peasants war. It is popular with people from the town as well with visitors, as it is romantically located on a hill and overlooks the town. You can reach the ruin, which has free entrance, by walking there from Karlstadt, but also from some villages such as Mühlbach and Karlburg. The walk towards this site is quite nice as you have to walk through a forest, but the view from the ruin is absolutely stunning and unmissable on your visit to Karlstadt!
Apart from site-seeing, visitors can also visit the swimming pool in the summer (next to the river) and go cycling or inline-skating on the many small cycling paths along the river through the Main valley. Those who enjoy wine should perhaps visit the region in autumn, when the grapes are collected. Visitors can often visit vineries and sometimes, even tours through the hills are offered!
In Karlstadt, you can find one camp site, several bed&breakfast's as well as a few hotels. The newest hotel is the "Hotel an der Mainpromenade", which is located next to the river. The camp site is next to the local swimming pool, and enjoys popularity with campers.
The choice of food and drink is good: the town offers a lot of bars and pubs in the Hauptstrasse, where most of the food& drinks scene is centered. Those who are interested in regional or German cuisine should try the restaurant "Fehmelbauer", which is in a cosy medieval house. This restaurants also offers rooms.
Good Italian pasta and pizza can be found at "Da Franco", where the ambience is nice and the people are friendly.
If you do not know a lot about the town, it might be good to visit the town's website or to visit the tourist information.
Karlstadt has got a train station and is linked to towns such as Gemünden, Frankfurt or Würzburg, which should make it easy to come to Karlstadt if you don't have a car. The town also has a bus network, which is not that well linked with the bigger towns but which rather drives to the small villages surrounding Karlstadt.
Cultural hightlights are the "Musik in historischen Häusern und Höfen" (music in historic houses and courts"), where everything from classical music to jazz is offered. Karlstadt also has a small theatre and in summer, open air theatre takes place. In july, the "Umsonst& Draussen" takes place, which is a free entrance music festival with bands from all over Germany. This is a regular event particularly for the younger generations, but it also enjoys popularity with the older. In summer, many wine "Feste" (like a fair or a party) take place in the region, also in Karlstadt (july/august).
Another important time in the local calendar is february. In the Rhine region, Carneval is celebrated. Carneval in Germany is a bit like Mardi Gras in New Orleans and it is also celebrated in Franconia. In this time of the year, people dress up, have parties and carneval parades take place. If you get the chance, try to visist one in Karlstadt or the surrounding villages during your stay!
The best seasons to visit Karlstadt is spring to autumn,as there is a lot to do during this time and as the nature is beautiful during this time.
Oh, and Karlstadt and the surrounding area is defenitely a great place for wine lover: excellent white whine (Mueller-Thurgau,Silvaner,...) as well as red wine is grown in the region and people can go on wine tastings in local wineries, and sometimes even help with the harvest in october! Karlstadt has got two wine festivals (both in later summer), but there are wine festivals taking place throughout the year in the whole region! Another wine festival, which even attracts visitors from as far as Nuremberg or Munich, is the one in Gambach in october: it is very popular with young people, as the atmosphere is great, there's a good choice of wine as well as "Federweisen" (which is like very young wine, or a bit like grape juice)...and there is music! And don't wonder if you see people dancing on the tables at this festival!
For culture vultures, there is the theatre in the Gerbergasse, which performs in autumn, spring and summer. The summer plays are particularly nice to enjoy, as they are open-air and in the medieval part of the town.
Karlstadt itself is more then 800 years old, in 2000 the town celebrated its 800-years-anniversary. The town, which is also the administrative "capital" of the region Main-Spessart, can basicly be divided into two parts: there is the medieval part,which is close to the river Main and the newer part, which starts behind the train station of Karlstadt and which goes up until the hill of the "Saupurzel". The medieval, historical part of the town has kept its charm with many beautifully restaured "Fachwerkhäusern". This type of houses were built with a very traditional style and a lot of wood is used (but not at all like houses in the Alps for example).Many streets of the historic town centre are part of a pedestrian precinct, which makes it nice to stroll through town in general (or, particularly, with children) or to cycle. In the "Hauptstrasse", which is like the main street in the town centre, a lot of restaurants, bars,pubs and shops can be found. From chinese, to Turkish, to Italian,Greek and of course regional cuisine: everything can be found! It is particularly nice to visit those places in summer, as there are quite a few fountains along the streets and the restaurants and bars put up their chairs and tables in front of their houses.
Karlstadt has, because of its age, quite a few historic sites and if you visit the tourist information in the Hohen Kemenate (located in the Hauptstrasse in the local library (the German word for this is "Stadtbücherei"), you can even book a tour or just get some brochures to discover the town yourself. Karlstadt has a beautiful medieval church, which is in the middle of the town. It might not look that beautiful from the outside, but as the church has been restored in 2000, the interior is really beautiful. Even if you are not religious, do not miss out that opportunity! And those who are interested in the work of the medieval artist Tilman Riemenschneider, three of his wooden sculptures can be seen in there as well.
Some parts of the town, particularly those ones located next to the water/river are still surrounded by an old town wall and the town also still has a few towers. Another site of the town is the former "Rathaus", or town hall, which is located in the centre of the town on the market place. If you have a closer look towards the roof, you might discover a small niche in which a man stands. This man, which is of course only a figure, plays his trumpet several times a day, for example at 8 o'clock in the morning and at six o'clock in the evening. Like this, the inhabitantst know what time it is, but it also reminds the people of the town of Karlstadt's history. As Karlstadt was occupied during the 30-years war by the Swedes, the legend says that a Swedish soldier was forgotten in Karlstadt...
Those who are interested in traditions and customs of the region (or Franconia) might like to visit the museum in the Hauptstrasse. It offers interesting looks into the past, e.g. by displaying traditional costumes or even whole rooms of that time.
Another popular tourist attraction besides many is the ruin of the Karlsburg. The Karlsburg was a castle in the dark ages, but was partly destroyed during the peasants war. It is popular with people from the town as well with visitors, as it is romantically located on a hill and overlooks the town. You can reach the ruin, which has free entrance, by walking there from Karlstadt, but also from some villages such as Mühlbach and Karlburg. The walk towards this site is quite nice as you have to walk through a forest, but the view from the ruin is absolutely stunning and unmissable on your visit to Karlstadt!
Apart from site-seeing, visitors can also visit the swimming pool in the summer (next to the river) and go cycling or inline-skating on the many small cycling paths along the river through the Main valley. Those who enjoy wine should perhaps visit the region in autumn, when the grapes are collected. Visitors can often visit vineries and sometimes, even tours through the hills are offered!
In Karlstadt, you can find one camp site, several bed&breakfast's as well as a few hotels. The newest hotel is the "Hotel an der Mainpromenade", which is located next to the river. The camp site is next to the local swimming pool, and enjoys popularity with campers.
The choice of food and drink is good: the town offers a lot of bars and pubs in the Hauptstrasse, where most of the food& drinks scene is centered. Those who are interested in regional or German cuisine should try the restaurant "Fehmelbauer", which is in a cosy medieval house. This restaurants also offers rooms.
Good Italian pasta and pizza can be found at "Da Franco", where the ambience is nice and the people are friendly.
If you do not know a lot about the town, it might be good to visit the town's website or to visit the tourist information.
Karlstadt has got a train station and is linked to towns such as Gemünden, Frankfurt or Würzburg, which should make it easy to come to Karlstadt if you don't have a car. The town also has a bus network, which is not that well linked with the bigger towns but which rather drives to the small villages surrounding Karlstadt.
Cultural hightlights are the "Musik in historischen Häusern und Höfen" (music in historic houses and courts"), where everything from classical music to jazz is offered. Karlstadt also has a small theatre and in summer, open air theatre takes place. In july, the "Umsonst& Draussen" takes place, which is a free entrance music festival with bands from all over Germany. This is a regular event particularly for the younger generations, but it also enjoys popularity with the older. In summer, many wine "Feste" (like a fair or a party) take place in the region, also in Karlstadt (july/august).
Another important time in the local calendar is february. In the Rhine region, Carneval is celebrated. Carneval in Germany is a bit like Mardi Gras in New Orleans and it is also celebrated in Franconia. In this time of the year, people dress up, have parties and carneval parades take place. If you get the chance, try to visist one in Karlstadt or the surrounding villages during your stay!
The best seasons to visit Karlstadt is spring to autumn,as there is a lot to do during this time and as the nature is beautiful during this time.
Oh, and Karlstadt and the surrounding area is defenitely a great place for wine lover: excellent white whine (Mueller-Thurgau,Silvaner,...) as well as red wine is grown in the region and people can go on wine tastings in local wineries, and sometimes even help with the harvest in october! Karlstadt has got two wine festivals (both in later summer), but there are wine festivals taking place throughout the year in the whole region! Another wine festival, which even attracts visitors from as far as Nuremberg or Munich, is the one in Gambach in october: it is very popular with young people, as the atmosphere is great, there's a good choice of wine as well as "Federweisen" (which is like very young wine, or a bit like grape juice)...and there is music! And don't wonder if you see people dancing on the tables at this festival!
For culture vultures, there is the theatre in the Gerbergasse, which performs in autumn, spring and summer. The summer plays are particularly nice to enjoy, as they are open-air and in the medieval part of the town.
